Ascension: REVISED
by Onimiman
Summary: Something that T'Keira Leia pointed out in her blog, which I agree with, had much to do with how this scene was handled in the original source material. While mine may be a little melodramatic, I think it's at least slightly better.
1. Chapter 1

Ascension: REVISED

_This is what should have happened during the scene where Ben Force-slapped Vestara in Christie Golden's final entry into _Fate of the Jedi, Ascension.

Chapter 1

Ben had finished reading Vestara's personal private journals, which she had written on the _Jade Shadow_'s guest cabin's computer. When he was done, he sat back in wide-eyed, open-mouthed horror, and looked back at Vestara, who was currently wrapped up in her own bedsheets so she couldn't get away or stop him from reading her journals.

And when he looked back at her, at the broken-hearted stare she gave to him, he knew what unforgivable wrong he did.

Ben looked away from the Sith girl he was so in love with, and sat back in the chair he took for himself in tired defeat. Previously, when he heard her crying, he went straight into her room to see what was going on, and saw that she was writing something down on the computer. He tried to get to the screen to read what she had written, but she tried to stop him.

When she did, he physically assaulted her; he Force-slapped her across the face, and following a short but intense struggle between them, he got her on the bed and used the Force to wrap her body in the sheets. She cried and begged him not to read what she wrote, but he did it anyway, for fear that she might have been doing something that would've compromised the Skywalkers' safety to the Lost Tribe of the Sith. At first, that's what Ben thought she did when he read the first two words, _Dear Papa_, in her first journal entry. Then, as he read on, all he saw was a fictitious diary written by a teenaged girl who wanted to have been born and raised under a fatherly Jedi Master.

And now, with her father dead, as she was the one who had been forced into killing him in a fierce lightsaber duel on the former Sith world of Dromund Kaas, these fake journals were all she could ever hope for when it came to a happy, un-Sith-like life.

And he, Ben Skywalker, Jedi Knight, hero of the Second Galactic Civil War, son of the great and legendary Grand Master Luke Skywalker of the New Jedi Order, had violated not only her body, but her private fantasies. Here, for what he did, he was reduced from a great and honorable warrior to nothing more than an abusive and invasive boyfriend-like low-life, no better than the typical spousal abusers who were arrested frequently on Coruscant and elsewhere in the Galactic Alliance.

He could never forgive himself for what he just did to Vestara. And as he looked back at her again, it looked like she wouldn't either.

Ben hesitated, not knowing what to do or say in this situation. Vestara was the same, except she had a look of contempt, mixed in with an emotional pain at not only what he did to her physically, but what he did to her in terms of their relationship. Ben, meanwhile, looked and felt the way he did when his mother died. Both he and Vestara thought that against all odds, in spite of the differences between them–he a Jedi, she a Sith–they would be together.

And within less than half an hour, Ben destroyed all of that.

In his mind, he tried to rationalize it all out. He had done it because he feared for the safety of himself and of his father, who had so much to deal with when it came to combatting the likes of Abeloth and the Lost Tribe of the Sith.

But no, Ben knew. He didn't do it because of something that could at least half-justify what he did to her. No, what he did to her, he did because he had felt hurt, because he thought that once again, like countless times before, Vestara had betrayed him and Luke. And he made her pay for it.

There was nothing that Ben could do to be forgiven by either Vestara, or by himself. Nothing.

In spite of himself, Ben had the courage and emotional strength to stand up and walk to the bed. Vestara turned her face away from him in an expression that amounted to disgust even as he began to unwrap her from the bedsheets. Once he was done, and she was completely free, she rolled so that she was facing away from Ben, and she hugged herself.

"Vestara..." Ben started to say. "I'm..." He couldn't say it, because he knew it wasn't true. For himself, he didn't think he could ever say it with any truth or resolution to Vestara for what he did to her.

Vestara had the same thing in mind. "Leave," she said simply and quietly.

Ben just stood there, again, not knowing what to do or say. Normally, he would've just reached for her shoulder and tried to say something reassuring for her. But there was nothing he could do or say that could reassure either of them of what had transpired minutes earlier.

So why was he standing here like the idiot he was, if he knew nothing could repair this? Ben thought this to himself.

"I said LEAVE!" Vestara cried out as she rolled back to face Ben, tears streaming from her eyes. And just as quickly, she turned back and began sobbing to herself. Ben reflexively reached for her, then just as reflexively pulled back, knowing that it was at best futile, and at worst, fuelling the fire to the situation.

The door to the guest cabin opened up. "What's going on here?" Luke Skywalker's authoritative voice asked to no one in particular before his eyes looked down at Vestara's crying form.

When Vestara's tear-blurred eyes met those of the emotionally cold Grand Master's, she turned away again, only to face a dumbfounded Ben again. "GET OUT!" she found herself screaming at her assaulter and would-be boyfriend.

Looking from Vestara to his neutral-expressed father, Ben didn't waste five more seconds before leaving Vestara's sight, walking around the bed, and heading for the exit of the room, which was blocked by Luke. The latter allowed his son to leave the guest cabin before he shut the door to leave Vestara in what peace she could find.

As Luke closed the door, Ben immediately began heading for his room. "Wait," his father stopped him. Ben hesitantly turned around to face Luke, and the latter asked, "What was that all about?"

Ben drew breath to speak, but found himself shaking to begin admitting the abuse he committed.

After a while, Luke grew impatient and demanded, "Well, speak, Ben."

And that was when turned to his side and slid down the wall behind him, sinking to his haunches. He piled his arms atop his folded-in legs, dropped his head, and began quietly sobbing to himself. Luke then approached him, and bent down, adopting a warm, fatherly voice rather than that of the cold and calculating persona of the Jedi Order's Grand Master.

"Ben, talk to me," Luke said, prompting Ben's tear-streaked face to raise up from his arms and into his father's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Ben sniffed. "I hurt her, Dad," and went back to crying in his arms. In between sobs, he managed to say, "I... hurt... her... I... beat... her... I..." He trailed off and began sobbing once more.

Luke stood up, and looking down at his son with a cold and calculating stare, he asked, "Why?"

Ben ceased sobbing and looked back up at his looming father. "Because... I thought she hurt me... as a friend," he said. "But instead, I hurt her, and I hurt her bad. And there's nothing I can do to fix this or make it up to her at all." He went back to crying again.

Luke didn't say anything after that. He just turned away from Ben, allowing him to weep like Vestara was weeping in her room right now, and then the Grand Master silently returned to his own quarters.


	2. Chapter 2

Ascension: REVISED: Chapter 2

Jaina Solo, Luke Skywalker's niece, knocked on the guest cabin to Vestara's quarters. Normally, either, she, Luke, or Ben would simply unlock the guest cabin and walk in to discuss whatever they wanted or needed to discuss with her. But after Jaina's talk with Luke about what Ben told him he did to Vestara, Jaina figured that even the young Sith woman in the room needed some time to herself if she wanted.

"Go away!" Jaina heard from the other end expectedly.

"It's me, Jaina," the Jedi Knight announced herself. "May I come in?"

Instead of immediately answering, "No," and telling Jaina to go away again, there was some hesitation before Vestara eventually asked, "Why?"

"I just wanna talk to you, Vestara," Jaina answered. "If you let me."

Hesitation. "Come in."

Jaina then opened the door and walked into Vestara's guest cabin. She closed the door on her way in, and looked at the young Sith woman, sitting on the edge of her bed, rubbing the last few tears running down her face. Vestara looked up at the Jedi Knight with a red-smeared but otherwise blank face.

"What do you want?" Vestara asked, neither rude nor polite.

"May I sit down?" Jaina asked, deflecting Vestara's question aside.

Five seconds later, Vestara nodded, and Jaina took her spot next to the young Sith.

"Vestara," Jaina began, "may I ask... what exactly you were writing at that computer over there?" Jaina nodded her head in the computer's direction.

"Why don't you read and find out," Vestara replied. "It's what Ben did."

"Vestara, I don't want to intrude on your privacy–"

"Then what do you wanna do with me?" Vestara abruptly asked. "You said you wanted to talk to me, not find out what I was writing. Or why don't you just go talk to Ben and find out what I was writing from him?"

Instead of mentioning Ben, at least directly, in the conversation, Jaina said, "Vestara, listen, as a woman, like you, I know the value of feminine privacy. And I won't tell anyone what you wrote, not even Master Skywalker. If you allow me, I just want to know what you were writing that caused this... incident."

Vestara looked directly at Jaina. "You mean you're not here to find out what I wrote for Master Skywalker?"

Jaina looked away when asked that. "Vestara, I swear, I promise you that what I'll have to inform Master Skywalker, it will depend on how it concerns us as Jedi."

"That's what I thought."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Jaina asked, "So... may I?"

Vestara looked at Jaina again and said rather aggressively, "Go ahead."

It took Jaina another few seconds before she stood up and walked over to the computer. She took a seat, pulled up the files that Vestara had saved, and she began reading the first entry.

At first, Jaina was disconcerted when the first two words in the entry were, _Dear Papa_, thinking for a few seconds that Vestara had been selling Luke and Ben out to the Lost Tribe of the Sith. But even after what he did to Vestara, surely Ben would have told Luke about the severity of these letters–which meant that they were indeed personal for Vestara.

Sure enough, it was, as Jaina read on. When she was done, herself having shed a few tears over what Vestara had fantasized about being, she looked to the young Sith woman, whose back was still on the older Jedi Knight who just read her personal journal entries.

Jaina stood up from her seat at the computer and retook her spot next to Vestara. "Oh, Vestara," she said. "I'm so sorry." She felt like hugging Vestara, comforting her, but she doubted that it would be appropriate; and that was only because a Jedi consoling a Sith like that would have already been too much.

"So is that it?" the Sith asked. "Is that all you came for?"

After some hesitation on Jaina's part, she reluctantly said, "Yes." She felt like talking some more with Vestara, but she honestly didn't know what to say. She recalled that not so long ago, after Vestara was forced to kill her own father in combat on the former Sith world of Dromund Kaas, Jaina had told Vestara that she had to face a similar situation nearly three years earlier; she had no choice but to strike her down Darth Caedus, formerly her brother Jacen Solo, in order to end the Second Galactic Civil War. And to this day, Jaina still felt grief and loss over her brother's death, even as she was the one who administered it.

Here, Jaina was honestly at a loss for words. She had never been in a position like this, where a beloved male family member or friend had struck her in any way. There were no consoling words for Vestara this time; she was on her own here, for better or worse, and Jaina had to report to Master Skywalker.

Vestara snorted at Jaina's simple answer. "Go figure." She turned away and simply stared forward at the exit. Jaina stood up and walked to the exit. After she opened the door, she looked back at Vestara for a brief moment, who had a minor look of contempt on her face, as if Jaina had wasted a good amount of time on something better she had to do.

The Jedi Knight, without saying a word, turned back around and left the room, closing the door on her way out.

~o~

"So what did Vestara's private journal entries say?" Luke asked Jaina when she met him in his quarters to discuss what she found.

After a brief moment, Jaina sighed and replied, "I made a promise to Vestara that I won't tell you exactly what were in those entries."

"Jaina, you know you can't withhold any necessary information in any of your reports, and you sure are old enough to understand that by now," Luke said mildly, even with the weight of authority behind his words.

"Well, what were in those entries hardly presented any necessary information at all, Uncle Luke," Jaina said. Before Luke could reply, Jaina said, "Look, all I can tell you is that what she wrote doesn't pose any threat to us or the rest of the Jedi. What was written was for Vestara only."

"Really?" Luke asked, an eyebrow raised.

Jaina nodded.

"Well, if that's the case then," he said, "I see no harm in bringing her over to Coruscant."

"What?" Jaina said. "You mean you're finally returning to Coruscant?"

"My ban has been lifted since Daala's deposition, correct?" Luke elaborated.

"Well, yes, it has," Jaina confirmed for no good reason. "But even so, you're still bringing a _Sith_ back to Coruscant, Uncle Luke."

"You did say that Vestara doesn't pose a threat to us, right?" Luke asked.

"I said that alone, what she wrote in her private journals isn't a threat to us or any of the other Jedi," Jaina clarified. "But Vestara is still a Sith, and she can pose problems to the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance without the help of either the rest of the Lost Tribe or Abeloth."

"Well, regardless," Luke said, "I still have to return to Coruscant. It's time for the Jedi to unite against Abeloth and the Sith, and wipe them off from the face of the galaxy."

"And what're we going to do about Vestara?" Jaina asked.

"We'll do what we've always done with her," Luke answered. "We'll keep an eye on her, and whatever problems she'll cause us, we'll deal with her as it comes."

"And what about the Galactic Alliance?" Jaina asked.

"What about it?" Luke asked back.

"The Alliance already has more than enough problems on its plate to deal with as it is," Jaina elaborated. "Not since the last war has it needed us."

"The government can handle its own problems," Luke said. "The Jedi have a much greater responsibility on its shoulders–to eliminate those who dare to threaten the safety and stability of the galaxy that we've worked so hard to achieve."

"So wait, what're you saying, Uncle Luke?" Jaina asked. "That the Jedi are to separate from the Galactic Alliance just to deal with Abeloth and the Sith?"

"We are going to separate from them, but not just to deal with Abeloth and the Sith," Luke confirmed. "I suspect that at this point, the Sith have already infiltrated Coruscant and the government itself. We'll have to remove ourselves quickly from the government's hold if we're to avoid any unexpected attacks upon us by the Sith. Besides, I see now that the Alliance has been holding us back from what right needs to be done. I thought since the Dark Nest Crisis that working with the Galactic Alliance would be better for both the government and the Jedi. But ever since all this occurred, the war, Abeloth, Daala, the Sith, etc., the Order can't be hindered by the mundane affairs of the galactic government like the previous Jedi Order was limited; and look where that got them."

Jaina raised an eyebrow. "Good point," she said. "Well, then, in that case, I see no reason to question your judgment, Master Skywalker. But how do you know for certain that the Sith are already on Coruscant?"

"I don't," Luke replied. "It's just a feeling based on my years of military experience. Though these Sith have been cut off from the galaxy for more than five thousand years, I'd think that by now, nearly three years after they become spaceworthy, they'll have already been able to have spread out many of their resources throughout various regions of the galaxy in preparation for their would-be takeover of the galaxy. Considering that you and Lando had to fight off Sith pirates after our first battle with Abeloth, I don't think my suspicions are too far out. That, and what my intuition in the Force tells me that something very big and very bad is going to happen, and that if the Jedi don't stop it soon, the galaxy will be in some very big trouble."

"If you have such concerns, Uncle Luke," Jaina replied, "why haven't you brought it up to anyone else in the Order, or in the Galactic Alliance?"

"If I let on my suspicion, the Sith will be on to us, and they'll be more difficult to defeat in the long run," Luke replied. "And that'll be on top of trying to defeat Abeloth and her own Sith allies. Besides, like you said, the Galactic Alliance is already too busy in its own affairs, and having them get involved in this will simply complicate matters. No, we have to deal with Abeloth and the Sith in our own way, our own time, and our own jurisdiction as guardians of peace and justice throughout the galaxy."

"Well, what if your suspicions that the Sith have already infiltrated Coruscant are false?" Jaina asked.

"If they were, I wouldn't be worrying about it," Luke replied. "And if my concerns do turn out false after all, we'll still be leaving in order to become a separate entity from the Galactic Alliance, in order to become independent of any government, and to deal with Abeloth and the Sith once and for all."

Jaina sighed, and then grasped the bridge of her nose in contemplation before she said, "All right, Master Skywalker. We'll do this your way." She turned around to leave his quarters, but stopped at the door after she opened it. Jaina turned around and asked her uncle, "Oh, and Uncle Luke, what will be done about Ben?"

Luke looked at his niece. "What about him?"

"Well... considering what he did..."

Luke held up his artificial hand. "I'll deal with Ben," he said after lowering it back to his desk. "You just worry about your own duties in the coming days, Jaina."

Jaina nodded. "Very well then, Master Skywalker." She turned around and walked out the door. It slid shut behind her, leaving Luke to sit and contemplate what will be done with his son.


	3. Chapter 3

Ascension: REVISED: Chapter 3

When the _Jade Shadow_ finally landed in the hangar bay of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Luke told Jaina to stay aboard and look after Vestara. Then he told Ben to come with him.

The Skywalkers were met with applause from many Jedi in the hangar, and all of the Masters, including Kam and Tionne Solusar, and several Knights and apprentices were present. Not all of them were applauding their return, as several of them were aware that at the moment, there was a Sith apprentice currently aboard the _Jade Shadow_. The applause from the Jedi who were celebrating Luke and Ben's return to Coruscant gradually died down when they saw the look of apprehension on the Skywalkers' faces.

The scene in the hangar bay now quiet, all of the Jedi could sense the feeling of unease between father and son. Previously, just before they stepped down the landing ramp, Luke told Ben that as soon as they were off the ship, Luke would handle his own responsibilities with the Jedi while Ben would retire to his quarters in the Temple. Ben wordlessly obeyed this previous command and stalked off to accomplish that simple duty. Several Jedi, including Masters Kyp Durron, Corran Horn, and Saba Sebatyne, looked away from Luke to watch his son walk away before they returned their attention to the Grand Master of the Jedi Order.

"My fellow Jedi," Luke loudly announced in a calm yet authoritative voice throughout the hangar bay, "as you can all see, I have finally returned home. And as was my duty to fulfill in my exile, I have come to discover the cause of my late nephew Jacen Solo's fall to the dark side of the Force. Throughout the course of his five year journey following the Yuuzhan Vong War, the edicts he had been taught from Force sects other than ours were merely the paving road to what was his inevitable downfall to the dark side. That road, for those of you unaware, had begun during that aforementioned war, when Jacen was brainwashed by the invaders and an enigmatic Force-user who had been among the Vong, whose name was Vergere. While it is ambiguous as to whether or not Vergere was really a Sith Lord in disguise or not, it is clear that her teachings were what warped Jacen's mind enough to start his path to his unfortunate destiny of becoming Darth Caedus.

"And now on to my first official act as the reinstated Grand Master of this Order. Master Saba Sebatyne, please step forward."

Saba stepped from the lineup of Masters alongside her, and walked up to several meters from Luke before she knelt and bowed her head in obeisance. Luke closed the gap between them, and he motioned for her to look upon him and stand up to face him.

"Master Sebatyne," Luke began, "you are hereby relieved of your duty as acting Grand Master of the Jedi Order. For your actions in leading the Jedi to eventually overthrow the now-deposed Chief of State Daala, I thank you. And as for your actions in having to kill Master Kenth Hamner in order for the actions of the Order to proceed, I reprieve you." Saba's eyes shot up in surprise at this.

"Though Master Hamner was a well-intentioned and good-hearted man and Jedi," Luke continued, "his ideals were sadly misplaced for the likes of Chief of State Daala. In having to end his life so that our goals could go on, I would normally assign to you some form of punishment. But now more than ever, the Jedi are needed for the good of the galaxy." Luke nodded for Saba to return to her place with the other Masters.

Luke then looked out over the general assembly of Jedi around him. "Now more than ever, we face a grave crisis the likes that haven't been seen since the days of Darth Caedus's reign of the Galactic Alliance. The government already has its hands full enough as it is, what with new governments being run by ex-slaves petitioning to join the GA, and other matters are distracting them too much to face off against the greater dangers that threaten this galaxy. As all of you know, we are officially part of the Galactic Alliance, and unfortunately, that hinders us if we are to defeat Abeloth and the Sith; with the Galactic Alliance in such dire restraints themselves at this point in time, we cannot be limited from what needs to be done."

Luke inhaled, ready for the reaction from his fellow Jedi after he gave out this announcement. "That is why we are to move off of Coruscant, and therefore out of the Galactic Alliance, in order to counter Abeloth and the Sith."

Many of the other Jedi in the room reacted in shock, as expected.

"Silence." Luke said it loudly, but without losing his calm or cool; he had Force-projected his voice, just as he had many times before. And just like those other times, all of the other Jedi shut up when he spoke.

"Now," Luke continued, "if we are to move off of Coruscant as soon as possible in order to confront Abeloth and her minions, we must move quickly. We must take all documents, hand-written and otherwise, out of the Temple's libraries and computer mainframes, prepare our StealthXs for launch..." Luke listed off several other things that all of the Jedi in the hangar had to do. He gave the special instruction to Saba to call for an emergency meeting with her fellow Chiefs of State–Wynn Dorvan and Haydnat Treen–and tell them what the Jedi are doing. He then singled out Jedi Knight Natua Wan to take him to the Temple's library so that he can maybe help her in her research of Sith-associated planets, which could help the Order track down Abeloth and her Sith allies. Natua agreed to this, even though she didn't really have a choice.

After all this, Luke announced, "You all know what you have to do. So do it."

With that said, everyone in the hangar dissipated from their groups and went about to accomplish the tasks needed for them to leave Coruscant as soon as possible. Natua Wan then directed Luke to the Temple's library, and there, as the Jedi around them went about bustling for their duties, he asked her, once they got to a terminal, "So what new leads have you found, Natua?"

As Natua began typing the keys on the keyboard, she explained, "Well, just last night, Master Skywalker, when it seemed that I had run out of leads, I simply pulled up a random search, and I found this." Natua finished typing at this point, and a holographic photograph, accompanied by informative text at the side, had displayed a dark and barren planet. "This is Upekzar. Since we're pressed for time, I'll just give you the necessary information as to why I think Abeloth and the Sith would come here. This planet is the home of a type of ritual that the ancient Sith once used to train their students by exponentially increasing their abilities in the dark side by having them confront these creatures that give out hallucinogenic pheromones. These hallucinations give out avid nightmares that would severely traumatize those Sith students who were weak, and those who were strong would gain further strength from these experiences."

"Then we'll start our search for Abeloth and her cohorts there," Luke stated. "You get ready to leave. I'll go get my son."

Natua nodded to the Grand Master, and then they split up to accomplish their respective tasks.

~o~

The door to Ben's quarters in the Jedi Temple opened up, and he looked up, sitting on the edge of his bed, to find his father standing at the doorway, just as he did a few minutes after he hurt Vestara.

"We better get going, Ben," Luke said simply. "The Jedi are getting ready to leave Coruscant." The Grand Master turned away to leave, and Ben wordlessly followed.

Not a word was spoken between either Skywalker, nor did they talk to any of the other passing Jedi among them, even once they reached the Temple's hangar bay, where reporters and other media paparazzi had entered and surrounded various sections of the Temple. They were interviewing Jedi who were uninterested in being interviewed, and Luke had no reason to feel any different as reports began surrounding him and his son.

But Luke knew neither he nor Ben were going to make another meter to the _Jade Shadow_ unless he himself offered a word as to why the Jedi were moving off of Coruscant and out of the Galactic Alliance. It was a wonder why Master Sebatyne didn't offer some information to the media, but then, she probably did, and just as the media would be, they wanted more coverage and edges to explore or exploit–depending what your viewpoint on such a matter was. So Luke explained that the Jedi were doing this so that they could be an independent entity from the Galactic Alliance; he didn't mention Abeloth, her cohorts, or any of the Sith he suspected were already on Coruscant as it was, for he didn't want any more attention from the Jedi's enemies as it were.

After Luke gave his comments, he and Ben continued on to the _Jade Shadow_, though the reporters kept surrounding and following them, offering more questions that neither Skywalker would answer. But fortunately, the reports were courteous enough to stop a few meters away from the _Shadow_'s boarding ramp as Luke and Ben climbed aboard.

Luke sealed the ship off from the media, who still threw out questions, and Ben began to return to his quarters aboard the ship before his father said, "No. You come with me; help me prepare the _Shadow_."

Ben nodded, and followed his father into the cockpit. There, he helped him ready the _Shadow_'s controls while, outside in the hangar bay, other Jedi were already boarding their StealthXs and getting ready to launch. The media reporters still tried fielding questions to what few Jedi were left trying to get to their starfighters, but they failed to get any more information than what Luke already told them.

Once all of the other Jedi reported readiness, they announced it over the _Shadow_'s comm, and Luke acknowledged each and every one of them, with Saba Sebatyne coming in last just after she was done her session with Wynn Dorvan and Haydnat Treen. The only announcement Luke made as the hangar bay's ceiling opened up was, "Let's roll."

With that, every ship in the hangar bay of the Jedi Temple launched, with all of the media reporters having been smart enough to have moved safely out of the way for the ships to depart, and those reporters watched in awe as the Jedi ships left without celebration.


End file.
